Categories: Culture

Saudi Arabia is set to host a festival of video games amid sweeping changes in the Kingdom

<p>
<strong>The popular annual Riyadh Season mega event this month will see the launch of “RUSH”, a festival of video games. This was reported by the Saudi Press Agency today (October 13).</strong></p>
<p>
The RUSH festival will be held from October 22 to 26 in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.</p>
<p>
The agency report described the festival as “the most prominent and largest in the field of video games regionally”. It is expected that the festival will attract gaming fans and aficionados in thousands.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">
Hashtag summary: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Saudi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Saudi</a> Arabia launches the biggest entertainment season in the region, and its called <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Riyadh_season_2021?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Riyadh_season_2021</a> 😍😍🇸🇦 <a href="https://t.co/U22pUgEfgI">pic.twitter.com/U22pUgEfgI</a></p>
— عزيز السويدي🇸🇦 (@AzizSweedy1) <a href="https://twitter.com/AzizSweedy1/status/1426881787775668226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>
Analysts say that the festival nails sweeping  changes in the Kingdom, which is slowly shedding its ultra-conservative image under a new generation of leaders led by Crown Prince Mohamed bin Sultan (MBS). Saudi Arabia is also home to large Indian expat population, whose remittances are major source of foreign exchange to India.</p>
<p>
The festival will see the holding of electronic games competitions and challenges. Among them will include games such as Tekken 7, Peggy, Overwatch, FIFA 2022, Call of Duty, and others. The prizes to be disbursed during these competitions amounts to $266,598 (one million Saudi riyals).</p>
<p>
Besides being organised offline, the games and competitions to be held in the festival will be shown on various platforms like Facebook Gaming, Twitch, and YouTube Gaming, said SPA. The agency added that there will also be live performances onstage with interactive segments.</p>
<p>
To add colour and fun to RUSH, the festival will also host a cosplay competition, in which visitors of the festival can dress up as their favourite game characters.</p>
<p>
The 2021 Riyadh Season will be launched on October 20, according to Turki Al al-Sheikh, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of General Authority for Entertainment. The first time the event was held was in 2019. Then it started in October and ended in January 2020.</p>
<p>
The event became a hit for the first time itself as the inaugural festival witnessed more than 10 million venue visits. This year’s edition is expected to start this month and end in March 2022.</p>
<p>
The Chairman had in August disclosed that Riyadh Season will be organised in an area of 5.4 million square meters with 14 different zones, each featuring a diverse array of events and experiences.</p>
<p>
This edition will include 7,500 events, at least 200 restaurants and 70 cafes as well as 100 interactive experiences and 10 international exhibitions.</p>

IN Bureau

Recent Posts

VINBAX 2024: Vietnam-India bilateral army exercise concludes at Kaushalya Dam

The fifth edition of the historic Indo-Vietnam Joint Field Training Exercise, VINBAX-2024, successfully concluded its…

15 hours ago

India-Russia strengthen defence ties at 22nd Working Group meeting on military technical cooperation

The 22nd meeting of the India-Russia Working Group on Military technical cooperation and defence industry…

16 hours ago

“I want to have strong representation of India at World Nuclear Exhibition 2025”: Sylvie Bermann

Sylvie Bermann, President of the World Nuclear Exhibition expressed confidence in India's nuclear supply chain…

17 hours ago

PoJK: Joint Awami Action Committee protests against government following new ordinance, many injured

Joint Awami Action Committee core member Shaukat Nawaz Mir has condemned the attack of police…

17 hours ago

PM Modi meets 31 world leaders, heads of organisations during his 3-nation foreign visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in 31 Bilateral Meetings and informal interactions with global leaders…

19 hours ago

India- Australia conduct 11th Indian Air Force-Royal Australian Air Force Air Staff Talks

India and Australia conducted the 11th edition of the Indian Air Force and Royal Australian…

20 hours ago